Capitol Safety

Pricey Visitors Center Is Not The Answer To Tragedy

August 03, 1998

Nothing can erase the tragedy of July 24 when two security guards died in the U.S. Capitol protecting visitors and workers from the bullets of a paranoid schizophrenic intent on killing. The two national heroes gave their lives doing the job they were hired and trained to do, but which, in all honesty, no one ever expected would demand the ultimate sacrifice.

The work of a madman cannot be predicted; to some extent it cannot be deterred. It could be decades before anything resembling the most recent tragedy occurs again; it could be a matter of days or hours. No one can know.

We can, and should, be diligent in the protection we provide to those likely to become targets of such inexplicable anger. But there can never be any promises of absolute protection.

We were heartened immediately after the tragedy to hear congressional leaders promise to keep the Capitol open to visitors. The building truly belongs to the American public; citizens cannot be kept out.

But those promises ring hollow now. Yes, citizens will be allowed in, but members of Congress are busy thinking of ways to seriously impair the experience that millions of visitors have enjoyed in the past.

In some form, as yet undetermined, members of Congress want to build a visitors center - early estimates say it could cost $125 million. While such a building would have various amenities, its main purpose would be to protect members of Congress by being sure that no one carries a gun into the Capitol.

This is a useless exercise. It will, by definition, take away from the visitors' experience. It cannot, by definition, make members of Congress absolutely safe.